How do you post on multiple social platforms at once?
I was thinking to distribute updates about my products over multiple social platforms at the same time. What platform should I use for this? I remember using Buffer at some point but their interface was really buggy and posts sometimes didn't show up as expected.
I was thinking to do it on Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and LinkedIn. Are there any other mediums I should consider?
Is this actually good or is it a lot better to post different content, tailored for each platform?
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My co-founder uses Hootsuite. he seems pretty happy with it.
@XCS - I've always struggled with this as well, and here's why.
While there are tools like Buffer, Later, & HootSuite to help automate posting on different platforms, each platform has its own unique characteristics.
For example, on Instagram, you can @ tag people/accounts, and use hashtags to attempt to broaden the visibility of your posts. Also, there's no good reason to include links, because IG doesn't make them clickable. Image format is usually best as 1:1 ratio, though I know you can use other ratios.
On Facebook, you can include links, but hashtags aren't really used. Also, if you want to tag other FB pages, like a shout-out to an influencer or brand, you have to find the page and make sure you have the correct page/name. Even then, on FB, it's sometimes a little tricky to get the tag to work right. Image format can generally be anything.
Twitter is somewhat of a hybrid between IG & FB, but the @ tag names are not always the same between IG and Twitter, so if you try to make one post that goes to IG & Twitter at the same time, it just doesn't work.
LinkedIn is probably a little more like FB, but I haven't done tons of posting on LinkedIn to get a good feel for it.
Combine that all with image vs video content, and it complicates the situation even further. You might do a long-form video on FB, but then only want to do shorts on IG & Twitter.
I suppose some of the above could be automated by creating a master Google sheet with all of the raw data for each platform for each post, and have tool create posts using that data. Hard to know unless you actually tried doing it.
Collecting the data and populating the sheet might be more time-consuming than manually repurposing something you created for FB and making it into something to post on IG.
Maybe someone like @alyhuggs or any of the other smart devs here on IH could figure out a viable solution :)
This is a great answer, thank you!
I agree that creating content for each platform is probably a lot better, but for an indie-hacker this might be too time-consuming. Probably just posting the same "mediocre" content on more platforms is more worth than spending too much time on creating platform-tailored content.
That tool idea is really nice, where you add everything you want for a post: title, image, text, video, hashtags, mentions, etc., and the platform automatically posts the relevant content on specific platforms.
You're very welcome.
Yeah, for the tool, I could envision an interface where you check the platforms you want to post on, and the interface provides different options/sections to fill out. Would love to have something that would facilitate tagging accounts/pages on the different platforms too.
I use buffer.com
Hootsuite is what you need for a small start.
Otherwise, buffer is great.
I believe copy paste does the trick, but using a service that can automate the process is probably the most ideal and most people settle for that. Creating bots or utilizing preconfigured bots for the task is also a viable option. Lastly, Selenium JS is something you could take a look into as it has so many use cases
Copy-paste sounds reasonable, the problem is more going to each platform, logging into the correct account, pasting the content, making sure it looks ok (on Facebook it's different if you add link first or image first for a post for example).
Creating bots sounds interesting, I think this is what platforms like Buffer/Hootsuite are themselves.
I highly recommend using puppeteer instead of Selenium, as Selenium is harder to use and a bit too old for current standards.
Puppeteer is definitely interesting and is certainly easier to use. Thanks for pointing that out.
I use Later.com, it supports all Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest. I'm really happy with it.
I even automated my content creation too, check out this video where I talk about it https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFfABdNOArQ&t=1s
@alyhuggs - watched your vid -- super smart! Nice work :)
How long ago did you try Buffer? For your budget, they're probably the best option. Either that or just publish manually.
I think it was like 2 years ago, just trying to post on FB + Instagram + Twitter simple text + image + link posts.
I might go for Buffer or Hootsuite again.
Yeah I'd go with Buffer then. They've changed quite a bit over the past couple of years, and the price is right.
I did go for Buffer, they actually have a free plan too which is enough for my use case, only that LinkedIN doesn't seem to be there.
Do you have a budget or does it have to be free?
Pretty easy to find services that cover Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter. Not all services can do LinkedIn. Is LinkedIn a high priority?
They can be paid, but should be a reasonable amount for an indie-hacker (eg. max $20-$30 per month)